The Legend of Zelda: The Twilit Blade
by arbiter650
Summary: In the aftermath of Hyrule's greatest trials, a hero emerges heart broken at the departure of his greatest friend and partner. Now driven by desperate hope, will he ever see the woman of his dreams ever again? While he ponders this, dark forces emerge from their ancient slumber to wreak havoc on the taxed Hyrule. Rated PG-13 for slight language and violence. Link/Midna.
1. End of an Epic Journey

**alright, so there are a few things I want to make clear before we begin:**

**1.) I do not own Nintendo or anything associated with Nintendo, aside from personal copies of a few choice games. If I did, I wouldn't be posting this fanfiction. What I do own is the OCs, unless specifically stated otherwise.**

**2.) This is a direct post from my Deviantart account, under the same username I am using here. It is my go-to username so that all I have to say is "oh! go to so and so website and look me up!" if you desperately want to know the origin of said username, pm me and we'll talk.**

**3.) I will be posting the story to my Deviantart more often than to Fanfiction. Why? because I write the story on my phone, and it's easier to copy and paste the story to a journal entry than it is to upload it to fanfiction and pretty it up. So please, check the Deviant account first before you cry about a new chapter not being published in 2 MONTHS. It makes my life and your life easier**

**4.) The reason why I created this fanfiction. You may be wondering why I am writing a Link/Midna story after all the hype about it has died down. Well, long story short, I couldn't play Twilight Princess until now. want details? pm me.**

**5.) Critique. I have no problems with it. In fact, please pick apart my story as you see fit. Just don't go screwing with the storyline to much, or bug me about what was canon in-game and what wasn't. It's a fanfiction. More than likely, I eschewed facts on purpose.**

**now that that is out of the way, please enjoy the first chapter of The Twilit Blade!**

* * *

"Well... I guess this is farewell huh? Light and Shadow can't mix, as we all know. But... Never forget, there is another world bound to this one." Midna said sadly. Link couldn't believe it was all over, he almost believed that his quest would continue on forever, and now that it finally was over he didn't know what to say, not that he spoke much to begin with. Looking at Midna, his companion imp turned beauty, he so desperately wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.

"Light and Shadow are two sides of the same coin... One can't exist without the other." Zelda replied "I know now the reason the Goddesses left the mirror in this world: it was their design that we should meet... That's what I believe." Link just nodded his head, knowing that was probably the best thing to say.

"Zelda... Your words are kind, and your heart is true... If all in Hyrule are like you... Then maybe you'll do alright. Thank you..." Midna replied to Zelda. "Well, you heard the princess: as long as that mirror is still around, we could meet again..." Midna conceded to Link almost mournfully.

"Midna..." Link whispered. He had an idea of what she was planning, but didn't want to believe it. _She wouldn't... Not after all we've been through..._ He thought to himself. "Link... I..." She whispered softly, a tear forming in her crimson eyes. "Wait..." Link croaked out this time_ she wouldn't dare... Would she?_ Panic started to set in Link. "See you later..." The last words she uttered before she used her tear to shatter the mirror into oblivion. "Wait!" Link shouted in his panic. He started to move, but it felt as if time had slowed to trickle. Midna climbed onto the glowing platform, for the last ride to the Twilight Realm the mirror was ever going to make. She looked back one last time at Link and he could tell she was about to break down right then and there. Then in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

He was so close to that first step of that platform, and he just collapsed on his knees, in shock of what had just happened. "She couldn't have just left. She can't leave now... She can't..." He whispered to himself "this can't be happening..." A lump was starting to form in his throat as his mind started processing the shock. "You bitch... Why would you do that?" He choked out tearfully. But he knew why: she didn't want another Twilight incident. She didn't want another Zant to wage war with Hyrule. But even so, it felt like he just got stabbed in the heart. As Link began to break down and cry, Zelda ultimately decided to leave him be for the moment, knowing nothing she said could ever make anything better for him, and trying to comfort him now would be a waste of effort. He needed to be alone, simple as that.

* * *

After sobbing for a good 10 minutes, Link was completely drained. He barely had any strength left to pick himself up again, and that was saying something. As he got up to leave, he noticed a note, which undoubtedly was from Zelda. Although he had never seen her writing before, for some reason he could recognize it as hers, not that it would matter anyway. It read "Link, I brought Epona into the shade of the grounds for you. I can't imagine it's easy for you to have lost a friend that way. If you have time, come see me at the castle. There is something I need to discuss with you." _So, she left_ Link concluded _I don't blame her, I must've looked pretty pathetic, crying like a child_ which brought up another pang of heart-ache as he thought of how Midna would've responded to his crying _can't stop to cry this time, there are things I need to attend to_ as he thought about Ordon, and his friends. The people he called family, _I need to make sure they got home, safe and sound_ and with that, he mounted Epona and set off, swallowing his heart for a moment.

The trip was uneventful, the monsters that were present during the crisis had retreated back into the dark corners they came from, when Ganon was defeated out on the plains outside of castle town, waiting for his eventual return to continue the cycle of conflict. Those that were still in sight often attempted to retreat, however were ultimately unsuccessful, as Link was on horseback and they were often on foot, and It didn't help them that Link was an excellent archer either. 'Can't let them live to hurt other people' he lamented. He never took any joy or satisfaction from killing, regardless of what or who it was. Even when he was convinced that Ganondorf had killed Midna in their final battle, he still felt no joy in taking his life. He even felt pity for the Gerudo: he was a slave to his own ambition, a slave to the darker side of the triforce of power, an artifact that was intended to bring peace to Hyrule and her people.

After traveling for what seemed to be forever, taking potshots at moblins as he went along, he finally arrived at Faron Woods near nightfall. _I should wait until morning_ Link decided _they'll want to hear what happened at the castle, and I'll need my sleep._

But sleep never came to him. When he tried closing his eyes, he immediately started thinking of Midna, and the look she gave him before she left for her home. _Why Midna? Why couldn't you leave the mirror... There must have been another way..._ Link reflected solemnly _Why couldn't I go with you?_

Out in the distance, two hooded swordsmen watched the hero of light and twilight's futile attempts of sleep. "Aww, poor thing. He misses his girlyfriend" the left swordsman remarked with mock pity. The right one just snorted "Which one?" Too which they laughed like it was the joke of the century. Those laughs would've made even the hardest warriors shiver in fear. "I think we should... Reunite them, eh Jiriko?" The left swordsman almost purred.

"I think that's a grand idea Damas, and I know just how to do it..." Chuckled the right. A deep, sickly green mist then engulfed the two swordsmen, and when it lifted they were no where to be seen, even if there were someone to watch.

* * *

**Please leave a review, I'd like to know where I can improve. Of course, praise is nice too, I'd like to know if you liked the story**


	2. A New Foe Emerges

**Because some of you actually liked chapter one, and wanted the next chapter soon, I decided to post this one early.**

* * *

Morning finally arrived for the emotionally taxed Link. To put it plainly, he felt like shit, and if he felt like shit, he knew he definitely looked the part. _I need to hit the Faron Spring..._ He contemplated groggily.

Walking past Coro, and declining his offers of "soup" and lantern oil, he walked Epona over to the spring so they could soak together. Epona knew her master almost better than Link knew himself, and she didn't get any sleep either because of his anguish. If Coro didn't know better, he'd have mistaken them for broken war veterans, and that is what worried him.

"Hey guy, if ya don't mind me askin, what happened to you? Ya left only a couple weeks ago and you look like ya just watch'd your family get butchered..." Coro probed tentatively. The moment his words left his mouth, Link stopped in his tracks, and Coro saw a glimmer of pain in his eyes, which quickly got replaced by a not very convincing smile. "Just haven't seen home for a while is all, I'm fine really." Link replied with forced cheer.

"Pal, I'm not one to get into long stories. And you definitely have a long one to tell, but I'm here for ya. Now tell me what's troubling you." Insisted Coro.

"I appreciate it Coro, but I'm fine. Really. I just didn't get much sleep while out on the road last night because I knew I was nearly home."  
Link half-lied. _Sorry Coro, but it's not your business..._ He thought.

"Alright, fine. I get that." Conceded Coro. _guess its not my business anyway._ Coro reflected.

When Link finally arrived at the spring, he made sure to pull out a couple of bottles for fairies 'never know when I'll need them' Link recalled 'I remember the last time I was out of both medicine and fairies... Ganon was a freak of nature'.

* * *

He soaked in the spring a lot longer than he had hoped to, as it was now noon. _Gotta get moving now, otherwise I might worry them._

He went to get Epona, but when he grabbed the reigns, she wouldn't budge. "Epona? What's wrong girl?" Link asked soothingly. But Epona wouldn't budge, in fact she even shied away from the entrance. Her own eyes were trying to warn Link of an unseen danger.

Seeing the signs his horse was giving him, Link quickly pulled out the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield and stared at the exit of the spring. Sure enough, two hooded figures then came into view, the sheathes of their peculiar swords on their hips under their clearly worn cloaks. _strange_ Link pondered _most people wear their swords on their backs._

"Pardon me sir," the man to the right started, in with an almost rude tone "But you wouldn't happen to be SIR Link, the hero of light and twilight are you?" Putting a clearly mocking emphasis on sir.

"Hero of light and twilight? I think you guys need to get your ears checked, the Twilight invaded Hyrule." Retorted Link, irritated with the man's attitude.

"I don't think you quite understand just what it is you are dealing with SIR Link." The left man sneered. "As you might have noticed, we aren't exactly from around here..."

"Out with it then, just who are you?" Link demanded angrily. _They are starting to get on my nerves_ he seethed inwardly.

"Oh? You don't recognize us? After all we went through together? That's quiet a shame..." The right man moaned in mock hurt. "I guess I can tell you who we are... We are the ones who are going to gut you like a Hylian pike!" He suddenly bellowed.

With that they both pulled out their thin, lightly curved swords ready for battle. Link quickly analyzed his opponents: they both wielded their swords in different hands, which made the middle of the two the weak point. However, they were both wielding a Cestus in their weaker hands, which gave them a greater chance of counter attacking if he struck there.

He then analyzed their swords: they were meant more for cutting through armor, and looked surprisingly light but could probably just as easily impale its victims. There was also a wave pattern on both swords, going along the sides above the blade. _So, these are katana huh? I expected a wider blade..._ Link pondered _I'll have to be careful, don't wanna end up dead._

"Look brother! He's already figured out what kind of swords we are using!" The left man cackled "Well isn't that adorable? Too bad it'll do you no good." The right sneered.

"You may be using foreign weapons, but they will be no match for The Blade of Evil's Bane!" Link retorted vehemently.

"Oh boo hoo! Woe is me! The Blade of Evil's Bane is gonna cut me down! Who will save me?!" Cried the left with mock despair. "Worry not little brother! For that blade will be no more after we crush SIR Link into the dirt of his precious homeland!" The right sneered.

And with that, they simultaneously sliced at Link's chest, a horizontal cut going outwards to avoid cutting each other. This forced Link to dodge with a backwards jump, as the attack came too quickly to block. They then swung at Link with a lighting fast punch from their Cestus hands, which forced Link to give up more ground dodging.

_Dammit, can't fight them at the same time_ Link scolded himself _gotta find a way to fight them one on one_

Link then attempted to bash them with his shield, but they just simply punched back, with a surprising amount of force. It wasn't enough to throw Link, but it did give him pause. They then slashed down inwardly towards Link, which forced him to give up more precious ground.

_Man, they don't give easily_ Link conceded _gotta change tactics._

He then tried to deal a back slice, which although didn't land a hit, it certainly separated them from their close knit battle formation. Once that was accomplished, they started circling around Link, keeping him from keeping eyes on both of them.

_Good thing I don't just rely on sight_ Link thought cheerfully as he closed his eyes and listened. He could hear the clanking of metal underneath their cloaks, the distinct ching of chains, which meant that they were wearing armor and chainmail. In this way he could keep track of both opponents without even needing to move his head in their direction.

Then they stopped moving, waiting for Link to make his move first. This gave Link an idea.

As he sheathed his sword and tied his shield back on his back, he contemplated _If I can pull off the mortal draw here, that'll leave one less asshole to deal with in this battle. Gotta be careful though, the shade wasn't joking when he said that it puts your life at risk._ As he shivered from the memories of the missed attempts training with the Hero's shade.

The two brothers looked at each other, not understanding what Link was preparing to do. All they understood was that it looked like he just gave up in the middle of battle. Damas decided that he was going to be the one to end Link's story, and tried to approach with sword in hand. When they had both reached a certain distance, they quickly learned what Link was planning. He managed to put a gash on Damas's gut, to which he promptly dropped from with a yelp of pain.

"Damas! No!" Jiriko screamed as he rushed to his brother's side, narrowly dodging Link's slash at his leg. He grabbed ahold of Damas and turned to Link with barely contained fury, "we'll meet again Hero" Jiriko spat out in disgust."My name is Jiriko. Remember it, because I'll be engraving it on your corpse soon enough."

Before Link had any time to react, they disappeared into a sickly green fog. _What was that about?_ Link pondered _Have I met them before?_

**_No, you have not Link._**

Link spun around to find where the voice had come from, only to find the Light Spirit Faron staring deeply at him.

"Can you read my thoughts?" Link asked with a start, he hadn't realized that the spirit had appeared so soon.

**_I have always read the thoughts of those within my care, as have my fellows._**

"Do you know who they were then?" Link pressed. "If you know something, please tell me."

**_I know of only a little, they are darkness incarnate. Evil in it's purest form. What their intentions are, I do not know, but I fear that even the Master Sword may not be enough._**

This caused a shudder in the ancient spirit, which created an almost imperceptible gust to flow out.

**_It would seem that the darkness has grown powerful in its time of dormancy. If they were able to enter this spring without fear... then dark times are sure to follow soon._**

"Then what shall I do Faron? We can't just do nothing." Link exclaimed.

**_Attend to your duties, Chosen Hero of the Gods. You have more than earned your respite. The other spirits and I shall seek council with the Gods._**

With that, Faron dissolved back into the spring. Link just stood there, rubbing his head from his newest headache _It's a strange day when a spirit of light responds to you_ He concluded _Not sure what the big deal is, I defeated them with a mortal draw, of all things._ Remembering a time in which he failed to kill a Lizalfos with the mortal draw. In hindsight, he should've known that Lizalfos was too heavily armored to be killed that quickly, but he was trying to get to that dragon quickly and get that mirror piece.

He promptly turned his attention to getting home, as that memory only reminded him of a smart-mouthed imp. For the second time that week, he felt the need to bottle his potent feelings and press forward.


	3. The Long Night Home

**From now on, I'll be uploading a chapter every other day, if I can remember (if its possible wherever I may be). Please review, it tells me that you like the story and that I should keep uploading chapters here instead of just writing the story and leaving it to get dusty on my deviantart profile where practically no one gives a rats ass.**

* * *

"Quit squirming Damas, you'll only make things worse on yourself," Jiriko lightly scolded, "If you'd like, I can knock you out right now to save the rum for myself."

"God-damned master sword and its pitiful bitch-ass lackey," Damas cursed violently "Bastard got lucky with that attack, I would've cut right through his sword and made him eat his own teeth if I didn't get careless."

"Humph. Even I think that's cocky." Remarked Jiriko. His brother could be hot-headed at times, but they stuck together, which was a rare trait amongst demons. That made them very dangerous.

"Yea, you're right... Too bad Demise couldn't give us a hand from the grave huh? He's really faint now... Been locked in that sword too long." Damas grunted.

"Yea, it's a real shame." Jiriko lamented. "Well, I got good news and bad news: good news is that I don't need to sew you up cuz it's not very deep."

"And the bad news?" He asked. "Bad news is, you're not gonna be up and about for at least a month. Fact of the matter is, the muscle is still slashed and needs to restitch itself. Which means alcohol." Jiriko stated. Damas just groaned, knowing it was gonna hurt, and not only that, but it also meant there was less alcohol for dinner time.

"It'll be over before you know it, now let me get the bandages first, and then we'll get to cleaning the wound..."

* * *

Link was finally getting back to the house he called home for most of his life. It was tiring work, trying to recall everything that had transpired since he left the village in search of the children. It took up almost all of the day. He had to leave out some choice parts though, didn't need people freaking out over his ability to transform into a wolf. He also tried to avoid mentioning Midna as much as possible, as much for their sake as his own. So he basically lied about the majority of his journey. Fantastic right?

He climbed the creaky old ladder up to the front door of his house, but before he could get inside he heard a familiar voice shout "Link! Hold on a sec!"

He turned around to see Ilia, his childhood best friend running up to his little "lawn" for lack of better terms.

"Ilia? It's dark out, you should be in bed by now." Link answered.

"Yea, well we don't got chores tomorrow, so I figured we could chat for a bit" she defended as she climbed up the ladder.

"Chat about what?" Link asked "We already talked all about what I did since the moblins attack."

"Well I was hoping on talking about us." Ilia admitted. This took Link by surprise

"I'm sorry, what? You wanna talk about us?" He nearly sputtered. 'Oh man, this is not my day at all' he cringed inwardly. It wasn't that he didn't like Ilia, but anyone who knows what it feels like get asked out right after getting dumped by a long time partner knows how Link felt right at that moment.

"Yea... I mean, we've been friends for, Gods know how long, and you went to great lengths to help me, even when I had lost my memories." She replied affectionately.

"Yea, but we're friends Ilia. You'd do the same for me if I'd lost my memories," Link chocked out weakly.

"Well yea, definitely, but that's not the point," She countered softly "You also saved Ralis for me, and while we're at it you repelled the moblins that attacked our wagon."

"Look Ilia..." Link interrupted, "I kinda just wanna be alone right now... I'm tired, and I've had to go through a lot to make Hyrule safe again..."

"Oh... Ok... Alright, good night Link..." She mumbled, wearing a look of hurt as she climbed back down.

"Goodnight Ilia..." Link whispered. _Good job Link. You just made your best friend cry._ He silently kicked himself, _let's try getting sleep this time around, if your conscience will let you._

* * *

That night, he managed to actually sleep, but it wasn't very restful. He began dreaming of his last moments with Midna, before she shattered the mirror. In it, he was miles away from her, and no matter how quickly he ran, she never seemed to get any closer. As he ran harder and harder, she began to break down into those damned cubes that the twili loved using much. He would scream out to her, but no noise would escape his lips.

Then all kinds of monsters he had fought on his journey arose from the ground: everything from deku sprouts to moblins to dark knights and then some. Link hacked and slashed at them, but they kept coming without end.

And when it had seemed that it was hopeless, he saw Ganondorf, holding Midna's fused shadow like a trophy, then crushing it in his bare hands. 'Would you hear my desire?' He heard being whispered all around him 'To take this foul blade... And use it to blight out the light forever!' The last thing he saw was himself getting stabbed by Ganondorf's cursed blade as the world was set aflame. A sick, twisted grin growing on the Gerudo's face.

He jumped out of bed, sweat pouring down his face. _It was just a dream..._ He sighed in relief, _Thank Nayru it was just a dream. Gods that was horrible._

He decided to grab a bit of water to wash his face with, as the sweat had completely drenched his face, and was even soaking his hair.

He tried to get near the stream that fed Ordon's small lake, and it's populace, without getting noticed. The village didn't need to get worried about him, after all it was just one nightmare. But, unfortunately for him, Rusl was there night fishing that night, no doubt trying to catch lunch for his family tomorrow.

It wasn't that being the protector didn't pay well, it was that Rusl preferred to catch his food, whether fish or game. As such, he was often the one who brought in much needed meat for the village, trading meat and furs for fresh eggs, vegetables, and any other necessities his family might need.

Rusl immediately took notice of his pupil, and like any good father to their child asked "Couldn't sleep huh? Bad dream?" To which Link just nodded. "Wanna talk about it?" Link shook his head "Not really, just some childish nightmare. I'll be fine."

"Link, if you could press on past an infested castle, full of monsters the likes of which I have never seen before, and be drenched in sweat from some 'childish nightmare,' then I've got to be the biggest coward in the world." Rusl chided, "Now tell me what's wrong. You've been acting strange since you got back."

"Alright, you win" Link gave, "well, I guess I'll have to start at the beginning..."

Link then began to tell Rusl the parts of the tale he wouldn't tell the others. His wolf form, and the crystal that now fuels his transformations. His adventures with Midna in a twilight version of Hyrule. The spirits of light. Even the former mirror of twilight and the fused shadows. The whole time Link recalled his adventure, Rusl just took it all in wordlessly. When he was finished, Rusl just stayed quiet a while longer, making sure no one else was listening in on the conversation.

"That is quite the adventure Link. It seems so incredible, and yet... It makes a strange amount of sense. The wolf coming into Ordon, and then the disappearance of the sword and shield... They make sense now." Rusl admitted. "I can't imagine the things you must've seen, what you had to do to protect us. Thank you for telling me."

"Rusl, if it's not to much to ask, I'd like to keep what I told you a secret." Link implored.

"Of course. It was the right call. They didn't need to know any of that." Rusl agreed, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks Rusl,"Link sighed in relief. "I'm gonna go back to bed now."

"Get some sleep, you'll need it if you're planning on going to the castle tomorrow." That stopped Link in his tracks.

"How did you know?" Link asked surprised. Rusl just pulled out the note Zelda left for Link at the arbiter's grounds.

"It fell out of your satchel. Might wanna get it sewn up, because it looked like it was about to fall apart." Rusl explained non-chalantly as he handed back the note.

Link nodded, taking the note, and then headed home. Thinking about what Rusl said about his bag, he looked at the table when he entered, and saw that indeed it was falling apart. Link knew very little about enchantments, but he did know that if it stayed in that condition, the enchantment was likely to break, and that meant he'd lose a table in the best case scenario, and he didn't even want to think about the worst case scenario.

He decided that fixing the satchel was more important than an extra hour of sleep. Who could blame him with the nightmare he just had?

After sewing his satchel back together, in a less than masterful way, he looked outside to see that the sun was rising. _So I spent half the night working on my own_ _bag_ he reflected _Midna probably would've called me stupid, wasting time sewing my bag together... No! Stop it! Stop thinking about her right now!_ He scolded himself, _You don't have time to think about it, and not only that but you need to get over it._

As he was scolding himself silently, he began to think of why it meant so much to him. Did he fall for the bossy little Twili? She was so mean to him for such a long time, but... When he needed her, she was always there. She may have been bossy, and one could argue that she was an abusive slave-master, but at the same time she never hesitated to lend him a hand when he needed it.

And in time, she even became a more agreeable person. They bonded as a team, and even became close friends on their journey. Would it have been so far fetched if he started having feelings for her?

Link put those thoughts aside for the moment so that he could focus on the task at hand. Zelda had given Link a summon to the castle, and although in her note she said to come when he had time, he knew better than to keep a member of the royal family waiting. Although not known for their cruelty, it would've reflected poorly on him in front of the person who saved Midna's life and even saved his own.

He suited up in the Hero Tunic he was given by the spirit Ordona. The other suits of armor he had obtained either didn't provide enough protection... Or were simply ridiculous looking (it didn't hurt that he was down to emergency cash either).

After double checking his own gear, and finding nothing wrong, he finally mounted Epona and went on his way to Castletown.

When he got out to Hyrule field, he looked back at Ordon and thought ruefully 'This might be the last time I ever see home again.' He didn't know what spurred that thought on, it just happened. But he couldn't shake that feeling, so he took a good long look at his home of 16 years. It was gonna be a long ride, and he wanted to enjoy himself for the moment.

And so a new journey began.


	4. New Leads, Old Wounds

"You want me to do what now?" Link stammered in surprise. _She can't actually want me to do that does she? There's no way_

"Link, if what you tell me about what Faron said is true, then we don't have many other options." Zelda reminded.

"With all due respect princess, you were there too when the mirror was shattered. Those shards dissolved the moment they hit the ground. There is no way we can repair it now." Link protested. "I'd like to believe it can still be done, but we need to face facts here-"

"Who said anything about repairing the mirror?" Zelda interrupted.

"You know of another way to get in?" Link asked surprised at the sudden interruption. _Is there another way in?_

"You didn't actually think that was the only mirror we had did you?" Zelda chided.

"If there was more than one mirror, then why didn't you tell me?"

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't know either until recently."

Link simply sighed. "Well then, where do we start?" He didn't really care how she found that information, and he'd have time to ask later if he wanted to.

"We need to go to the sacred grove. There is a spirit that lingers there that we need to capture."

"You're talking about the skull kid aren't you?" Link groaned, thinking back to his twisted games of hide-and-seek, which would end in a "game of tag" as the skull kid likely would have dubbed it.

"You know of it?" Zelda started

"Know of it is putting it kindly." Link shivered "That thing is a sadist if I've ever seen one. A very annoying sadist."

"Well, do you have any ideas on how we'll capture it?"

"Skull kid has a mind set of a child. Even though he'll be trying to kill us, he'll play it off as a game." Link recalled "He's fond of a very dangerous version of hide-and-seek. While he is hiding, he'll be using a flute to control puppets that will attempt to kill us. While dangerous, it will also provide us with the means to find him."

"What do we do when we find him?"

"We attack him."

"Link!"

"I've dealt him countless blows that would've killed Ganondorf a hundredfold. Not only that, but he barely showed anything more than sadistic pleasure, and frustration." Link defended.

"Alright," Zelda sighed "Then what?"

"After repeating the process a few times, he'll lead us to the entrance of the sacred grove, where we will be forced to actually fight him." Link continued, "that's the only time he'll stick around in a single area for longer than a few seconds, so it'll be the perfect time to grab him."

"Couldn't we just reason with the spirit?" Zelda implored.

"Not likely. Midna had felt an evil presence lingering in the woods when we had first arrived there. It's probably what's driving him to play these vicious games." Link explained.

"I guess we have no other choice then." She sighed in defeat "Just don't hurt him too much ok?"

"It'd be hard to hurt him in the first place, but I'll try to limit the damage" Link reassured, "Well, guess I should get going to the grove now, I'll be back as soon as possible"

"Link, do you even know what you're gonna ask him?"

"Uh... Where the mirror is?"

"So no, you don't. I'm going with you."

"The hell you are, what if-"

"I can take care of myself Link, need I remind you that I saved your girlfriend's life?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second. First of all, I never said she was my girlfriend." Link protested "Second of all, that was uncalled for: this is about you needing protection."

"If I'm not safe in the hands of the Hero of Light and Twilight, where would I be safe?" She countered.

Link just went through a cycle of opening his mouth to counter, then closing it again when he thought about her statement. He didn't like it, but she was right. _great,_ he whined inwardly, _Now I'm stuck with a smart-ass princess. Alone. Can this get much worse?_

* * *

Unfortunately for Link, there was a long formal process for the princess to get ready for any sort of travel. She needed to make a request to the captain of the guard, and blah blah blah, it was just a long and dreadful process that drove Link nuts. How anyone could deal with that level of beauracracy, he hadn't a clue.

What made it worse was that Zelda based her case on Link's swordsmanship. Which meant he had to listen to their arguing, which to be fair would put just about anyone in a foul mood.

After a few hours of mind numbing debate, Zelda FINALLY got the reluctant permission of the captain to take their best steed to ride out to Faron woods, on the condition that the captain accompanied her as well. Link didn't really care, as long as they got moving as soon as possible. In the back of his mind though, he was hopeful for the first time in two weeks. If Zelda's right, it would mean he could get to the Twilight world. Perhaps the best part would be the fact that he would get to see his Twilight Princess again.

It was a long shot though, he didn't figure the impish troll of a child would have much information, if he had any whatsoever. The chances of finding the second mirror within his lifetime where slim. But any chance he had was worth the risk to him.

It took them the better half of the month to find a PROPER entrance into the lost woods of the sacred grove. At least, one where they didn't have to grab onto cuccos and fly to it. Some of them were wearing heavy armor that was worth about fifteen sets of iron boots, after all (the poor horse that had to put up with it was relieved when they got on foot two days ago). However, just because they found an entrance didn't mean that the skull kid was going to be right there waiting for them. In a way, that was a good thing. That gave them time to prepare for him.

The plan was fairly simple: Link would play the kid's deadly game of hide-and-seek as he was the most familiar with his hiding and attack patterns. Once he has driven the imp into his favorite battle-grounds, Guard Captain Narof would net the child using a special flail (Link originally had planned to pin the skull kid to a wall by spearing him, but that was decidedly inhumane).

* * *

They decided that it would be best to set up camp near the entrance, just in case the skull kid came during the night and attacked. They would have to keep a watch, as the skull kid would have no mercy on them if they were caught sleeping. For the first time in forever though, Link had slept somewhat soundly. No nightmares of Ganondorf killing him and everything he has ever known.

Instead, he dreamt of the twilight realm. In it, he was looking up to the beautiful red-streaked sky, as if waiting for something to happen. When he was about ready to give up, the sky had begun to shake, lightning pouring from a single point in the sky. Then it calmed all at once when a floating cube, tilted on a single point, came down from where the lightning was projecting from, still sparking from its entry.

He heard voices whisper _"The borders between light and shadow are beginning to blur."_

Others still whispered _"Mankind shall soon receive the power to freely travel between worlds."_

_"Will their ascension be that of peace, or shall war be waged anew?"_

_"Have the interlopers learned their place?"_

And a number of other questions came flooding into his mind until finally they stopped. Instead he was transported to a dark room in which a single, black sword rose from an ancient yet sturdy stone. It looked almost identical to the Master Sword, in spite of the differences in color scheme. The sword also had runes that were of a similar design to Midna's glowing markings, running along the blade and hilt. It brought a strange calm over him, as if he felt that everything would be alright.

Midna then emerged from the shadows, beckoning him closer. But before he could oblige, he awoke. The last thing he had seen was Midna giving him a small smile that made his heart melt.

* * *

**Sorry about the chapter being shorter than normal, I'll make it up to you guys I promise. Also, sorry for the frequent changes, this is my first fanfiction and I kinda play with the settings every so often just to make it look nice and somewhat professional.**


	5. Coming to a Boil

**Almost had an aneurism when I found out I uploaded the WRONG chapter under the pretext that I was uploading chapter 5... A bit disorganized no? anyway, please enjoy Chapter 5, review and follow if you like the story so far please! I know a few of you already have, and I only can say thanks for showing some love!**

* * *

It was a bright sunny morning that day, or whatever qualified as bright and sunny in the Twilight Realm. Midna was staring at the cloud of twilight that ruled the skies of her homeland. Like everything else about her homeland, it seemed less precious since her return from her little escapade from Zant's coup d'état. Or rather, she started caring less.

It seemed to her that life slowly lost its luster since she shattered the Twilight Mirror. She tried so hard to forget about him, and the memories she made while in the realm of light. But all the meetings, formal parties, and other boring things just made it worse. She wanted some adventure, but more than anything, she wanted her dumb little wolf back.

She thought back to when she first saw Link, just before he took on his sacred beast form. He couldn't have been any older than 19 years old, which would make him only a little older than her.

During their long sentence of "solitary confinement" within the Twilight Realm, "Interloper" physiology had changed significantly. The most notable changes being how quickly they matured in contrast to other races, and a lightening of their natural skin color. It was predicted that in a few dozen more generations without new "convicts," the Twili would fade into nothingness, their magic and culture lost.

That meant that Midna made quite a few enemies when she destroyed the mirror. While many agreed that the Twili needed to avoid a repeat of Zant's actions, some felt that destroying the mirror was a condemnation of their people. No one knew the real reason why she destroyed the mirror.

The real reason she did it, which admittedly sounded ridiculously selfish to her, was because she wanted Link to be happy. She knew he had a life, had friends. Hell, he even had a sweetheart to fight for. She never had any of that, being royalty and all that. As much as it killed her to do that to him, she believed that she did the right thing. It still ate at her heart though. 'I hope he can forget about me,' she thought for the hundredth time that day 'because I know I'll never forget him.'

* * *

"Don't push it Damas, remember you're still recovering" Jiriko reminded his little brother.

"How am I going to get any better if I don't push myself to my limit Jiri?" Damas whined.

"I don't fucking know, how about sit your ass down and take a nap so your wounds can heal?" Jiriko shouted, irritated with his brother's newfound energy. _Sometimes he can be a pain in the ass... But I still wouldn't trade him for anything._ He smiled.

"The hell you smiling about Jiriko?" Damas blurted, "you thinking of home?"

"Hell no, that place was a dump. Probably still is" he laughed. The world that was considered the true darkness of Hyrule, it's true anti-thesis was a shapeless mass. Only the strongest personalities ever gained distinction in its void. By all rights, Jiriko and Damas could have called every demon to have ever gained a voice their brother. They were special though. They were the first to have been created by splitting a single personality in half, and survived after that. That had never happened before. Most demons just took that to be the end of their lifespans.

They made enemies simply because they existed. Most demons do, it was their way of life. However, the seeming favor of the void, which they revered as a god, was upon those two, and that gained the jealousy and hatred of every other entity within that dark expanse. For the brief time they stayed, it seemed that every one wanted to devour and destroy them. They wanted the power they held, so that they too could multiply their consciousness.

They had learned a very valuable lesson in their brief time there: they could only trust in each other. Perhaps if they killed the newest incarnation of the Hero of Time, maybe they could be accepted amongst their kind, but... The fear and despair that their "brethren" inspired in them made it hard to believe that anything would change.

* * *

"Ha... Hahaha... This is gonna be great..." Link thought aloud nervously. It started raining shortly after he had woke up that morning "Now we get to play catch the imp while its raining... As if it wasn't hard enough."

"We just gotta make do with what we have. You ready?" Zelda replied.

"You say that like its easy, but yea. Let's get this show on the road." Link affirmed.

"That's good to hear." Zelda sighed. _I don't think I've seen him smile since the arbiter's grounds..._ She recalled _For_ _that matter, have I ever seen him smile? Oh right... When my heart was one with Midna's..._ She remembered guiltily. She felt it was wrong to have seen into her memories like that, but having no control over it, she simply had to deal with it. It was probably why she looked into this in the first-place: she felt Midna's feelings, and quickly determined the course of action she would take. Zelda, to her shame, had a better understanding of Midna as a person than Link ever would with a lifetime of experiences. Even now, she could feel what the Twilight princess was doing at that precise moment.

What scared her more than anything else was the fact that Midna had no idea of this connection. It was completely one-sided, a product of being the reincarnation of the guardian goddess Hylia. Zelda had never before felt so ashamed in her life. It was not her right to peer into the Twili's life like that, goddess or not. She could only hope that the goddesses had a way planned for her to break this curse.

When Link got a few meters in, he heard the dreaded 5 mouthed trumpet, and the annoying "hehehe!" That would follow.

"You came back to play! Let's play let's play!" The little imp shouted in his obnoxious glee.

"Yea, I came to play..." Link nearly moaned, trying his best to keep a smile on his face.

"Oh goody! Lets play hide-and-seek! Ready? Go!" The imp sang as it disappeared into a flurry of falling leaves.

"Come find me, come find me!" The imp sang again, right before he played that tune, which would've sounded fairly soothing... Were it not for the dangerous implications it brought. It was because of the damnable puppets he controlled with that song that Link dubbed it "The Persisting Sound of Death". Link groaned, knowing that that tune was going to get stuck in his head because of the hours of hard search that were sure to follow.

* * *

"Urg! Let go of me!" The Skull Kid grunted as he struggled furiously to break free of the net, "This is child abduction!"

"Not so funny now when your on the other end of the trap, eh you little troll?" Smirked Link.

"You bully! And I thought we were friends!" The imp spat. "And as for your ugly little shadow friend, hope you get sunburned!"

Link lost it when the imp said that. What he was thinking at that precise moment, before he kicked the imp as hard as his leg would allow, is not something to be put into words. and to make things worse, the imp didn't even care. He showed no signs of pain with his kick, and that added fuel to Link's sudden rage.

"Link! I told you NOT to make the spirit suffer!" Zelda scolded.

"I can't just let him say things like that! He may be a kid, but he needs to learn some manners!" Link fired back.

"I know, I get that. But you need to calm down right now, because we need answers." She hissed angrily.

"That's why you netted me like a fish?" The imp calmly asked, seeing an opportunity to get free, "Well, if I answer your questions, can I go?"

"Yes" Zelda responded.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

"What do you know about the twilight realm?"

"Not much more than you probably do. Why?"

"We are looking for a way in"

"A way in? Are you suicidal or something? Oh wait, never mind. I know green is."

"Keep talking you tiny little ogre, next time I won't stop at a kick to your face." Link interjected.

"Link please... Look it's not your concern if we are or aren't, we just need to find a way in, that preferably has a way out."

"Well, you might want to go find the temple of shadows then..."

"Do you know where it is?"

"I can point you in the right direction, but from there you are on your own. You wanna go past snowpeak mountain, then down to the base on the other side. It should be carved into the mountainside." The imp explained. "Now, can I go please? This net is really uncomfortable..."

Link then cut the imp loose, having a new lead and no further use of him. As soon as he could, the imp disappeared into the foliage and said "Green, do me a favor and NEVER come back."

"If I never see you again, it would be too soon!" Link shot back.

"Don't antagonize it sir Link" The captain chastised, then turned to Zelda, "Well milady, we've completed this task. What do we do next?"

"You and I will return to the castle as planned." Zelda answered, "Link will go investigate the new lead, if he is willing."

Link just shot her a look that said, "Are you kidding me? Why wouldn't I go?" It was their best lead so far. He didn't trust the imp, but children were often unpredictable. He'd need to be careful.

"Well then, take this then," Zelda finished as she handed him a small orb "It's my own invention, it'll allow us to converse as if we were face to face."

Link accepted the orb, than left to break his part of the camp and get Epona suited for the travel up to Zora's Domain. _Better get ready Midna,_ Link thought excitedly _Because I'm coming for you!_

As he galloped away on Epona, he spent his entire ride thinking of what to say to his friend.

* * *

**Before I can forget, I've got things that need doing on the 28th (27th for most of my fans on the right hand side of the prime meridian), and won't be able to post a chapter then... but don't fret! I'll be posting 2-3 chapters the day after as penance for your wait! Also, I have a poll I want you awesome readers to partake in. It'll take only a few seconds of your time, and this story won't be updated for a little while so...**


	6. Temple of Shadows

"Alright, now where is it?" Link murmured to himself. He had been traveling for three days in the sleet and snow beyond the Yeti's mansion. Thankfully, he had stopped there for a night when Yeto was practicing his Igloo making. Link knew that that skill would come in handy, because he didn't know how long he would be on the other side of the mountain, and he didn't have Midna to warp him out if he got stuck somewhere.

His luck was definitely holding out, as not only was the snow packed down enough to make the bricks, but he also was finding enough time to actually find mountain goats for food, and dry trees that made for good firewood the entire time. Needless to say, he was actually fairly comfortable for most of his time on the mountain.

When he went over to look over a small cliff, he saw it. A large, black pyramid half covered in the snow, almost carved into the mountain itself.

"I think I just found the shadow temple." Link concluded. It was still a ways away though. If he had to guess, it would still take a half a day of travel to get there safely on foot. So he started looking around to see if he couldn't find an easier way, and sure enough there was a tree with frozen leaves. One that was no different than the one he used to get to the Yeti's house.

Link decided he'd do it the fun way by snowboarding a frozen leaf down to the temple. He gave the tree a good smack with an iron-clad boot, not wanting to actually tackle the tree this time around. Why he never thought of that before, he didn't have a clue.

Problem was, the leaf decided it wanted to go NOW. So after a scene in which Link dived to grab the frozen blue leaf, he silently hoped that no one had seen him. He then jumped on and pushed off towards the temple.

The ride was a lot more exciting and a bit more dangerous than the route he had to take when racing Yeta. Not only where there moments when he went off small and large cliffs alike, but he also had to duck when his path pushed him into a low hanging ice cavern, which shined brilliantly against the suns rays, nearly blinding him. He also had to weave between pines that defiantly fought against the cruel weather and cold, and then smash through an icy wall with his sword and shield. Navigating the narrow ice shelves was almost torture, as the leaf resisted any change in direction from the speed of his descent.

When he finally reached the black pyramid, he found that the entire underside of the leaf was thawed out due to the sheer friction of the speed he travelled at. Thanking the Goddesses for that insane burst of luck, he then approached the pyramid searching its etched surface for an entrance.

While he was circling around the uncovered portions of the temple, he started noticing that the etchings were similar to Twili runes, but were noticeably different. For one, they were much more circular as opposed to the box-like structure of modern Twili. Didn't make any difference though, he still didn't understand the language, which would be something he would have to work on if he wanted to impress Midna.

Before he could reflect on that thought, he realized something. The entire time he had been at the base of the temple, he hadn't even tried touching the building. The etchings suggested Twili origin, so he would need to get MUCH closer than the 5 meter distance he was keeping between him and the temple.

"Nothing ventured..." He muttered quietly as he started walking towards the black wall. As he got closer, he noticed that the rest of his surroundings were getting progressively darker, which meant one thing: that was a bubble of twilight he was approaching. "Not sure what'll happen if I just touch it, but..."

And he just passed through as if nothing was there, falling flat on his face.

"We'll that's great... Guess I don't need to worry about getting in anymore." Link groaned. "Glad no one is watching"

"Guess again hero." Growled an all to familiar voice.

Link looked up to see the two swordsman he fought almost a month ago. "Oh hell..." He thought aloud as he picked himself up. "I take it you guys want a rematch right? Can I get your names first at least?"

"You enter the sanctity of our new home and you dare ask-"

"Calm down little brother, we can indulge our little guest for a while." The right interrupted the left.

The right swordsman then pulled his hood down to reveal the face of a young man, roughly Link's age, sporting a light scar that went from the top of his right eyebrow, down past his thin nose, and ended near the left tip of his thin mouth. He had a head full of snow-white hair with slim streaks of jet black scattered in its feathery lengths. It grew just barely past the middle of his moderately broad neck. Perhaps the most striking feature was his eyes: not only were they a rich golden color, but they resembled the slits that a snake would have.

"I believe I have already introduced myself, my name is Jiriko. Son of late Keiro the Mad." The right swordsman then explained.

The other swordsman then pulled down his hood to reveal that he was practically a mirror image of his older brother, minus the scar.

"This is my brother, Damas. I believe he owes a debt to you for that gash you gave him."Jiriko continued a little angrily.

"Ok, sorry to break it to you guys but I don't have time to stick around and play warrior with you." Link dismissed.

"You have some nerve you twit! Acting all high and mighty when you just got a lucky shot, I bet-"

"Damas! I said calm down!"

"But big brother-!"

"But nothing! We both know why he's here anyway." Jiriko soothed patiently. "He wants to see his girlfriend again" he sneered this time.

Link stopped, curious this time as to what they knew

"Excuse me?" Link asked darkly. "What do you know about why I'm here? Do you even know anything at all?"

"Heh... Trying to bait me for answers huh? Guess I can indulge your curiosity..." Jiriko smiled maliciously "Tell me something: haven't you ever felt watched since Ganondorf died?"

Link just stared blankly at him.

"No? Guess we were doing it right then."

"Why me? Why not stalk princess Zelda? She rules a kingdom after all." He probed.

"Because that isn't much fun" Damas piped up. "Killing a hero is so much more satisfying, and it might get us a little respect from our brethren."

"Which brings me to my next question, just what the hell are you? You certainly aren't Human."

"None of your business jack-ass" Damas spat.

"Alright, fine." Link replied, "you don't have to answer that, but do you really think you'll gain your 'brethren's' respect if you have to resort to killing people?"

"Oh shut up, you don't know anything." Damas said with eerie calm.

"Maybe not... But I wouldn't wanna live in fear my whole life."

"Alright, that's enough. I know you won't be able to reach the end of this temple, and if you try than good riddance. You're a pain in the ass anyway" Jiriko interjected.

"But Brother-!"

"Damas, let's go. If he reaches the final chamber, then he's worth killing. If not, than we don't have to worry about it." Jiriko said with finality.

They then disappeared into a green fog again, only for it to be lifted once again to reveal nothing.

"Damn, and I was hoping this was gonna be easy..." Link whined in mock disapproval. "Better get to it then..."

He looked around for something out of the ordinary: a chain, a switch, a torch sconce, anything out of the ordinary. And then he found it: A hole in the wall, just big enough to crawl through. Seeing no other options, he decided to crawl to wherever it lead him. It twisted and turned, cracks grew in the ground and in the ceiling, and there were even moments when he had to wiggle his way through.

The worst moment that came though, was when he came face to face with a moblin that was crawling through the hole as well. It was a nightmare, because not only did it have its club out, it started taking swings at Link with its fists as well in an attempt to kill him. In his panic, Link ended up smashing his head against the Moblins, killing it. Pieces of skull and brain matter could be seen as Link dragged the lifeless body to one of the cracks in the floor in an attempt to clear the way. It would serve to give him nightmares later in life.

The rest of the temple was no picnic either. He often found himself shimmying across ledges no thicker than his bootstraps, while fighting off keese, as well as swimming in pools full of Bari and skull fish. "I'm glad I filled all of my jars with Yeto's soup, this would've sucked badly without it" he said to himself as he gulped down one of the jars of soup. "Considering what went into this soup, it's actually delicious."

He continued on into what he assumed to be the final chamber, not at all concerned about how he was going to get out of there. The door HAD a giant lock on it, but it was long rusted away and useless at keeping whatever needed to be locked in. So he just opened the door, realizing that he'd have to deal with Jiriko and Damas again.

When he went inside, he was amazed at what he saw. There was a gold laden platform, well runed with the ancient Twili language everywhere he looked. The blue glow the runes gave off made the polished surface of the gold shine softly, it actually put him at ease.

In the center, was a sword that looked reminiscent of the master sword in some ways, but was significantly different. For one, it had a blade that shown a deep onyx black, the hilt and pommel glowed blue from the runes that covered its unmarred, polished surface. It seemed to beckon him, promising of magic power unseen in millennia. As he took his steps towards it, ever cautious of the brother swordsmen that might lurk in the shadows. But all seemed calm, until the sword was drawn on its own. A figure then appeared, a dark reflection of himself with glowing red eyes. Link recognized it as the image of an interloper that Lanyaru had shown to him in his mind, which alerted him to the danger it posed.

"I am the spirit that guards this sword," it boomed without shout "For untold millennia, I have protected this sword, The Blade of Midnight's Might, from the weak who would seek power for personal gain... And from those who would seek to destroy it in their hubris. You're predecessor was among the later."

"You slew the Hero's Shade?"

"By the order of the goddesses, I have sworn to protect this sword no matter the cost. It has immeasurable power, created in the aftermath of the interloper wars" it boomed solemnly. "If you wish to take this sword, you must first prove you will not fall to the curse placed upon power."

And with that it took its battle position. Link knew that this was necessary to find the second mirror, so he himself took up his stance.

They quickly came to blows, the Dark Link blocking just before Link connected his blows, and then returning those blows with vicious ferocity. Link tried rolling around to his back, but the Dark Link turned quickly. 'Dark knights have nothing on him' he grimaced.

Suddenly, the Dark Link slammed his shield like a rhino on Link, stunning him for a moment. Link ducked, knowing that the Dark Link would perform a helm splitter. His sword had missed Link's skull by mere centimeters. Link then rolled away so that he couldn't get stabbed in the back (or worse). 'This is nuts... How am I supposed to break this guy's defense?' He winced. A light flickered on in his head as he came up with an idea. The Dark Link was on the very edge of the platform, so he took up a position opposite from him. He didn't want to send the Dark Link tumbling to his death, because he felt it deserved better than that. They then both raised their shields and charged at each other full speed. Link stopped midway and sidestepped the dopplegänger, tripping it and making it fall on its face. When it tried getting back up, Link held the sword up to its neck. The spirit merely held itself there, as if daring Link to slash his neck open. Link then put away his sword when he saw the spirits eyes, full of anger and loneliness, and offered it a hand to get up.

The spirit then looked up and boomed proudly "You have proven your mettle sacred beast. As to be expected from the hero of light and twilight."

"How did you know?" Link inquired, interested as to how he figured it out.

"The gods had long foretold of your coming, but perhaps the most distinguishing virtue that set you apart from so many was your merciful treatment. You were given a chance to destroy me time and again, and each time you allowed me a fair and just fight, and treated me as an equal even when I was on my knees. It would have been a temptation the sword would make each time you drew it: to cut down everything in sight." The Dark Link then explained.

"I see, so that is why you were chosen to guard the sword then. To test the limits of a person's will to protect others." Link realized.

"You are the closest to realizing than any other before you. While it is true that my purpose for a long time has been to guard this cursed sword from those who meant harm, the fact of the matter remains that even I am not immune to the swords influence..." The dopplegänger lamented.

"You mean..."

"Yes... I have used the sword to burn all in my path in the distant past... I lead the armies of magic wielders in the hope of establishing dominion over the sacred realm, to solidify the power of my people... To become as the Gods are themselves... Such a foolish dream, dreamt in hubris..." Dark Link mourned, "But when the Gods cast us out of the sacred realm, when my people were chased across Hyrule and banished to their fate... I hid in this forgotten place, like a true coward... I swore on that day that I would guard this ancient sword, corrupted by my greed and hate and pride, from all who would seek power. But now, the sword will have a better protector, and my people shall be redeemed from my sins." The Dark Link then began to fade away.

"Listen to me, chosen Hero of the Gods. The Mirror of Twilight you seek does not exist, there was never a second mirror, but the Twilit Blade makes such a thing irrelevant. If you use the power of your Triforce, you will be able to go to that realm. You can go anywhere you wish, outside the sacred realm itself. By its power, you shall give the descendants of my people hope that they shall see light without fear. Light and Shadow shall meet again in the glorious harmony that the Gods had intended for all... For their sake, fulfill your destiny as the champion of the Light and Twilight!" And with that, he was no more. Link then pulled out Epona's charm and played the only tune that he knew of that would mourn his loss properly, which Midna had created herself one morning while rummaging through Links tools.

He then started reminiscing on that day, while he played the song he dubbed "Midna's Lament"

"What is that sound..." Link mumbled half-asleep "It sounds so sweet, and yet so sad..." He then got up from the patc of wildflowers he fell asleep on and tried to locate the sound. 'It sounds like music' he thought to himself 'but who would play such a sad song so early in the morning?'

After walking past a boulder, which seemed to be the source of the sad music, he quickly got back behind the it, not wanting to disturb Midna from her playing. She seemed on the verge of crying, which was something he had never believed possible. But at least he had the sense to realize that she would've hated being seen crying. When she finally finished, and cleared up her sniffling, she called him out saying "Alright, I'm done now... You can come out."

"You ok Midna?" He asked as he walked back around the over glorified rock.

"Yea, I'm fine. Let's get back to it" she feigned a smile as she attempted to get back into his shadow. Link stopped her though by grabbing her hand. Before she could protest, he gave her a hug and whispered softly "Don't lie to me... I can tell its been rough on you..."

She fought herself a while to keep her composure, but she lost it and just started sobbing silently, hugging him as tightly as her little body would allow.

"I can't imagine how hard it's been for you Midna... To lose everything to a madman like that..." He soothed

"I should've tried harder... I should've fought harder against Zant... Then none of this would've happened..." Midna whimpered tearfully.

"You did all you could Midna... We'll stop him, for good." Link reassured.

After Midna had started to calm down, when she started to relax a little, she whispered, "Hey... Link... I..."

"What is it?" Link whispered back.

"Nothing, just... Thanks. For being there for me through all this." She finished.

"Thank me when we stop Zant." Link teased, which surprisingly enough made Midna smile. It wasn't one of her usual mischievous smiles, but a smile that warmed your heart to see. It was the first time he clued in on his own feelings for the impish Twili. He put it aside though, as there was too much that needed to be done before it would ever be safe to think such things. They had to find the way into the heavens to find that final mirror shard.

When he finished playing the song, he found that he had been crying while playing it. 'I miss her' he admitted to himself as his gaze fixed on the Twilit Blade. As soon as he picked it up, Damas and Jiriko appeared.

"Well that was touching" Jiriko said expressionlessly.

"You're not seriously going to fight me now are you? After hearing all that?" Link seethed.

"No... Not really. Originally, We planned on killing you once you obtained the sword, but... Doesn't seem right now." Damas replied.

"Then what do you want?" Link asked with suspicion.

"To wish you good luck I guess." Jiriko finished. "I hope you find what you are looking for... And I hope we will meet again."

Before Link could reply, they disappeared for perhaps the last time into their green mist. "Well hell, what if I don't wanna see you people again?" He hissed to himself. "Crazy bastards..."

He then turned his attention to his newest sword. Going on a hunch, he decided to try and imagine a scenario in which he needed to be brave. He thought of the Chief Bokoblin carrying Colin around like a damned trophy, and how he put his life on the line for his brotherly friend. Sure enough, the triforce reacted to the memory, and he heard a male voice ask "Where do you desire to go master?" Link merely thought of the throne room in Castle Town, and to his surprise he appeared there in no time at all. This alarmed the guards stationed near the throne, who were now shaking in terror from his sudden appearance.

"F-Fiend! You shall not escape alive!" One guard stammered.

Link then realized he should've teleported to the outside of her room (the outside of it so he didn't wander into something he wasn't supposed to see...), and quickly raised the sword again and teleported out to the outside of Zelda's bedroom. He then knocked, and shouted "Hey! Princess! I found something you might wanna see!"

* * *

**Alright, so I realize that Damas and Jiriko may have been a little out of character in those last bits, but bear with me... they are basically children in men's bodies, so they don't really get what is acceptable behavior and what isn't. **

**This was fun to write, getting into the groove now.**


	7. Reunion part 1

**And now, for the moment you have all been waiting for... Link's reunion with Midna!**

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"So there wasn't a second mirror after all," Zelda concluded with disappointment "So all of that work was for nothing..."

They were inside Zelda's room, looking out on Hyrule field. It hadn't changed much while Link was gone, only this time there was a oak table with a map of the mountains past Zora's Domain, and the little orb that went with Link's, which brought a slight guilty pang in his heart. He completely forgot he had it.

"I wouldn't say for nothing, I did get ahold of this" Link replied, as he pulled out the Twilit Blade with a flourish.

"What kind of sword is that?" Zelda asked with curiosity storming in her eyes. "I've never seen anything like it."

Link silently agreed with her. It was highly unusual to find a sword that held a kind of red-black that felt WARM of all things. The grip conformed to his hand when he held it, and the pommel held a gem that gleamed red-orange, not unlike the color of Midna's hair. The Cross and Rain Guard were shaped into a raven, and the runes that glowed along the blade gave it an unearthly feel, but it didn't feel like a cursed sword like the Dark Link had claimed.

He looked up from the sword and saw that Zelda was completely engrossed with the sword, her eyes had seemed to lose any expression in them. That rang warning bells in Link's head, and he quickly sheathed the sword. It must've done the trick, because the moment he did, Zelda snapped out of it.

"Ugh, what was that?" Zelda asked, rubbing her head. "What kind of curse could fixate a person like that?"

"Not sure," Link replied "All I know is, is that that is not the only thing it can do."

"Link, I think it would be best to destroy that sword." Zelda remarked.

"Can't do that."

"Link, if it could possess me just by my glancing at it, then it's a serious threat. We don't have a choice."

"It's not just a matter of choice, it physically, and magically, CANNOT be broken."

"Then it should be sealed away."

"This sword is the reason why I am talking to you in person right now."

That stopped Zelda in her tracks. She didn't have a good enough argument for that, but she certainly showed that she didn't like it.

"Alright, fine. You win this time." She conceded "So what all can you do with it?"

"Not really sure the limits of its powers. I do know I can teleport with it, but that's all I know." Link explained. "It responds to the triforce, so I'd imagine it has a few tricks hidden away."

"Could you use it to get to the Twilight Realm?" Zelda asked.

"I'd imagine its called 'The Twilit Blade' for a reason." Link stated cluelessly.

Zelda wanted to scream "Then what the hell are you standing there for? Get to it loverboy!" But that would have been unladylike. Thankfully Link wasn't a complete idiot. He could see what she was thinking and stammered out a "Oh, right. See you later!"

This time, Link only touched the grip of his sword while remembering that place: the throne room of the Twilight Palace. It took a lot of nerve to walk into that room, knowing Zant would be there. As the world around him started fading away, giving way to that room, he felt that it would take a great deal more nerve to enter that room again.

However, the Throne Room was empty when he arrived. Link just looked around, confused as to why there wasn't a single guard anywhere. In his confused search, he found a corridor behind the throne itself that lead somewhere away from the rest of the palace. Feeling that he didn't want to scare anyone that might be outside the throne room, he decided to follow wherever the hallway would take him.

After walking in that softly lit hallway for what seemed to him to be 5 minutes, he finally saw her. She was leaning on a railway to a balcony, which seemed to him to be her favorite hiding place. It wasn't as if the balcony was well visited, indeed it seemed to be fairly new. It was that he knew Midna loved places like this one where a person could just stare at the sky all day long, without a care in the world. A place where you could forget yourself.

She still looked as lovely as the last time he saw her. The black robe that fit her form snuggly, the small pony tail that wrapped around her hood. Her slender, runed arms. He felt he could stare forever, but he knew that he had to say something.

But Link was a little at a loss as to what he should do now. He hadn't decided on what he was going to say when, and if, he saw Midna again. On one hand, he wanted to play it smooth, like it was easy to get here (although it most certainly wasn't easy), and on the other hand he wanted to bitch but... He knew he wouldn't have the heart to bitch at her. Not when he worked so hard. For that matter, he didn't know how he was going to get her attention. Should he walk up to her, should he say something?

He eventually decided on the former, and cleared his throat, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Ugh... Can't I be left alone for five, maybe ten minutes without someone needing an audience or something?" She grumbled, hanging her head down low.

"I think you might wanna rephrase that princess."Midna heard a familiar voice say from behind her. She shot up like a bolt when she heard those words.

"No... That's not possible..." She stammered, her heart racing "It couldn't be..."

"It couldn't be what?" It teased.

She turned around slowly, half expecting it to be some hallucination, and half hoping she wasn't.

Her heart started pounding when she saw him. _This is a dream. There is no way he could get here._

Link just smiled an all too goofy smile and said "It's good to see you again Midna, how are you?"

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**...Sort of... I'm sorry I teased you like that, I am a horrible person and deserve to be punished, but the temptation to end the chapter just as it was getting good was to great to be ignored... Don't go, the good part was posted too! Please don't go!**


	8. Reunion part 2

Midna lost her composure. _If that's an hallucination,_ she decided, _Than it's really gonna hurt running into the wall behind it._

To her joy, it most certainly was not a hallucination. She basically tackled Link, causing the two of them to fall on the ground with a grunt of surprise escaping him.

"Ugh... What was that for..." He groaned unconvincingly. Although he was surprised that Midna, who was usually level headed compared to Link, had tackled him to the ground, he was pretty happy with the result. What better way to kick off their reunion than to be flat on his ass hugging his Twilight Princess?

Unfortunately that didn't last very long, because the moment Midna regained her composure she slugged him as hard as she could (she was surprisingly strong) and screamed "You idiot! How in the name of the Gods did you get in here?!"

Link had to cover his ears just to make sure he wouldn't go deaf. He was once again at a loss as to what he should do. For one he never had to deal with a screaming woman before, and for another he had never seen Midna truly pissed before. It was a truly frightening experience, and if he had to choose, he would rather have fought Zant and Ganondorf again.

He eventually choked out a "It's a long story, please calm down." Which did calm her down a little, but she was still mad.

"Then you better start talking fast wolf-boy." she huffed with exaggeration. "Otherwise I might not be so generous to a lowly servant"

_You little tease..._ Link grinned.

When they got up from their awkward half-laying position, they had found that they had a little bit of an audience of sorts. Two Twili, one male and one female, both of whom looked vaguely familiar (as bad as it sounded, Link felt most Twili looked alike, but they stood out for some reason). They just had dumbstruck look on their face, not quite comprehending what just happened.

Realizing that the odd pair was now aware of their presence, the man cleared his throat and said "My apologies for the intrusion, I hadn't realized you had a guest."

"Thank you for your concern, you may leave now." Midna stated calmly. The two then bowed and walked away, not once turning their back to Midna, which seemed to irritate her a little. She hated formalities, and Link wasn't a fan of them either.

Once they were out of sight, Link told her what she wanted to know. He told her about his little adventures since going their separate ways, and about the sword, which he made sure stayed in its sheathe. He hadn't yet told her how he found it, or how he got it for that matter.

"Can I take a look at this sword?" Midna blurted out in the middle of his tale.

"That's probably not a good idea..." Link started hesitantly. He wanted to show off the sword, but after what happened last time... He just couldn't risk it.

"Aww, why not?" She whined "You afraid I might cut myself? I've handled swords before."

"It's not that" Link sighed "This sword is strange, if a person doesn't have a strong enough will, they get bewitched or something."

"I see..." She replied, a thought forming in her head. "Mind telling me how you got it at least?"

"Well, I had to climb through an ancient temple, filled with all sorts of monsters we saw during our quest..."

"This temple wouldn't have happened to have been made from a bubble of Twilight, would it?"

"Uh, yea... How'd you know?" Link stammered.

"Call it intuition." she teased "So it's THAT sword... Who'd have thought..."

"You know of this sword?" Link whispered this time.

"My people had many legends, one of the oldest was of the king who supposedly betrayed us." She whispered back "When we were denied dominion over the sacred realm, our King had supposedly disappeared, while we were chased across Hyrule. Many felt that he had struck a deal with the Goddesses: he would remain in the realm of light, in exchange he would guard that cursed blade for eternity... I never believed in that story, that is until now."

"What do you think it means?" Link asked.

"What do I think it means? I think it means I just got my wolf-boy back." she giggled.

Link couldn't help but laugh, she just turned a serious conversation into a bit of a joke. And to make it worse, she pouted in such a way that you just couldn't take her seriously when he bursted into laughter.

Midna couldn't help but smile. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, she had her dumb wolf-boy back. 'I don't think it really matters how he did it.' She thought, 'He beat the odds again... And now he's here with me now.'

Her smile didn't go unnoticed to Link, in spite of his laughing fit. When he finally stopped laughing, he edged a little closer to her and reached for her hand. A small gesture that had worlds of meaning to it, to them. And to Link's great pleasure, she didn't pull away, didn't resist, and even returned the favor. It was an innocent admittance to each other. They knew now, without a doubt, where their feelings were, even if they didn't realize it at first.

Of course, such a thing was a fairly new concept to the two of them, and as a result it was an awkward and strange feeling, and it would be very slow going from there.

Not knowing what else they should say, they decided to say nothing and went to gaze at the sky. Perfectly content in one another's company. How long they stayed up by that balcony, neither knew, nor did they care. They were too busy dreaming while in a sweet embrace.

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**DAWWW... OOEY GOOEY SAPPY LOVEY DOVEY STAHFFF... THAT I SUCK AT WRITING... Actually, to be fair, this is probably some of my better work considering I don't have a lot of personal experience with that kind of thing... yea, forever alone. Reviews rock guys, keep doling them out! Oh, and check my profile, I have a poll up and I want your opinions on what I should do next (not for this story, I have a line up for it already).**


	9. The First Morning

Link slowly woke up, feeling well rested in spite of the cold stone ground. 'Man, that was a great dream... It almost felt like she was right there...'

But as he started to gain awareness for his surroundings, he found that it was, in fact, not a dream. Midna was indeed curled on top of him, asleep. Apparently, the servants had found them there asleep during the night, because they had a blanket over the two of them when he awoke.

He tried to gaze at Midna for a while, but his stirring woke her. He felt her tense up a little as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She must have thought the same thing when she woke, because when she looked to him, her face turned a nice shade of pink.

"Sleep well?" Link smiled non-chalantly.

"I didn't do anything really stupid last night, did I?" Midna murmured.

"Well, if you mean 'Did I do something you would do' then yes," Link softly teased "Otherwise, I don't think it qualifies as stupid."

"Well, what did I do that qualified as your brand of stupid?" She asked playfully.

"Well, you decided to take a nap outside without any cover." Link smiled impishly "And with me, no less. For shame..." He laughed.

"Will I ever learn?" She smiled back "I know better than to let you take the lead."

"Yea, but it's more exciting when I take the lead." Link joked.

"Sure it was. Fishing for the Hylian Loach in the dead of that ponds freak snow storm was a rush. Never before have I had that much excitement..."

"Heh... Better than nearly falling to my death fighting the Stallord..."

"How was I supposed to know that thing was still alive?"

They continued reminiscing their adventures for some time until one of the servants finally decided it was time to break it up.

"Ahem..." He started.

"Yes? What is it?" Midna asked, half paying attention.

"Milady, I beg your pardon but you've escaped your duties for long enough, and the longer you delay the more that will pile up." He stated with a measure of irritation.

Midna just sighed, knowing that she'd have to get up from her cozy little spot.

"I'll just go for a walk then, get familiar with the town layout. I'll be back when your done." Link offered.

"Don't be gone too long now," she winked. Link then turned a bright red, clearly caught off guard by the wink. Giggling, she added "Have fun! And don't get into any trouble..."

"I'll try not too, have fun!"

"Hard to do with this crowd." She sighed, pointing at the man behind her.

Suppressing a laugh, Link smiled before turning to leave.

"Well Boss, whatcha think?" A shadow moblin asked his master hesitantly. He had been on a very long cruel streak, ever since Zant's coup, and he didn't want to be next on the torture table. They were watching Link through the master's special crystal, made from the very fabric of the void, of which monsters everywhere coveted.

"I think Jiriko and Damas have gone soft from their first doses of light." Snarled a cloaked man, who happened to be the moblins master. The snarl made it flinch, it was not a good thing that the master was displeased.

"Sh-shall we go and kill them m-m-master?" It quivered.

"No. Even in spite of their betrayal, they aren't a threat. We can deal with them later." The cloaked man stated. "Right now, we should deal with this... Pest..."

And with that, they vanished, a mass of dark feathers left in their wake.

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**INTERMISSION**

**Veni veni venias, me memori facias... naw, just kidding. No crossovers in this story. Just thought of _him _when I wrote this part of the chapter. The closest they will get to being one and the same, is a that they'll have similar goals, and maybe this new character will have his personality molded after Sephiroth, but everything else will be different. BTW, don't own Square Enix and its help. I barely own any copies of games S.E has produced.**

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"Finally... I'm out of the palace..." Link panted, exhausted. Midna had evidently renovated the palace, as he couldn't remember seeing half the hallways and rooms he passed through. He asked directions from three different maids and manservants, but none of them knew how to speak Hylian, so he got nowhere fast. He could use the sword to return to the balcony if he got hopelessly lost, but being a stubborn fool, he wanted to get out without help.

It got bad enough where he looked desperately for a large chest, in the hopes that it would contain a map. Eventually, salvation came in the form of a child Twili, who spoke broken Hylian. It would've been funny, if Link wasn't so desperately lost that he would accept help from just about anyone.

After spending a good hour trying to make sense out of what the child said, he finally got a decent answer. Of course, he wondered who the child was but that would have to wait until another day. Right now, he had a very important task at hand: finding a decent flower shop.

That task was a very hard one indeed. Few understood Hylian in the Twilight Realm, due mostly to the fact that there hadn't been a new convict for at least a hundred years. The only easy part about finding the damned flowers, was that they accepted rupees even here.

After spending more than a few hours scouring the market place for a good shop, he made sure to grab a bouquet of the best looking flowers there (with the help of the clerk lady, who luckily spoke a highly accented Hylian).

Having paid for his gift, he decided to take his leave. When he exited the door, he heard screaming coming from the direction of what seemed to be the market place. "Guess that's my cue then," Link mused. It may have been only a day since he last fought something, but it felt like forever, so he almost skipped along down to were the screaming was coming from.

He almost regretted it instantly. A whole horde of shadow moblins was making an absolute mess of the market, upturning stands, destroying carts, and even stealing what looked like candy from children... The nerve of them.

That, however, was not the strangest thing about this scene. What made this scene truly strange, and admittedly a little intimidating, was a man standing right in the middle of the square, just watching the moblins do their dirty work, acting like he OWNED them.

He wore a deep-brown cloak, adorned with green runes that didn't even remotely match any of the Twili runes. The cloak also looked ancient, having very old black holes along the tail of the cloak, possibly meaning that it has caught fire at least once. His arms were adorned in a black-tainted copper-like metal gauntlet, segmented to afford greater flexibility and to give it a clawed appearance at the fingers. His boots were made of some kind of bone, or perhaps the metal that made it up was finished in such a way as to create that look. But perhaps his most striking feature was his eyes. Although his face was obscured by the hood, his eyes could not be hidden: they glowed a deep crimson that promised a great deal of pain and madness, and nearly made good on their promise right on the spot.

Link, for the first time in his life, was unnerved by such a sight. Even Zant and Ganondorf didn't have such cruelty in their eyes, and they nearly destroyed Hyrule as we know it. This man, whoever he was, was a serious threat. He needed to be contained before he could harm anyone.

But before he could draw his sword, the man lifted his hand and Link was lifted into the air, immobilized and unable move a muscle. He didn't even bother looking at Link, he just continued to watch the moblins do their handiwork. That made Link mad, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He couldn't even move his jaws, he was that suppressed by the man's apparent magic.

After what seemed to be forever, the man merely swung his arm out unceremoniously, and Link was sent crashing through the nearest shop, knocking him unconscious.

"Ugh... What hit me..." Link groaned. It was darker than usual, so he figured it must've been around night time, though it's hard to figure in the Twilight Realm. He must've been out cold for a while. When he started to shake of his disorientation, he found that he was a little buried underneath the black rock that the shop was made of. 'It must've collapsed when I hit it...' He thought grimly 'I hope nobody else was in here when I hit this place... For that matter, how'd I survive that?'

However, with a light push on the block on top of him, he found out that it was actually fairly light. "Well, that explains how I'm still breathing..." He mumbled. The town guards were already there, picking through the rubble to look for any survivors. Surprisingly enough, there were very few bodies, just a lot of rubble and ash from burnt carts and stands. Doctors were in a frenzy, trying to stabilize the less well off victims. There was an occasional sigh of relief, followed by many of the doctors swarming to the next critical condition patient, with one or two staying with the one patient to make sure they stayed that way.

Link decided it was best for him to help clear the rubble, knowing that his "field surgery" wasn't going to help these people much. They mostly had burns and severe head traumas. Moblins weren't known to carry swords, and now was no exception.

He received strange looks from the guards when he tried to help. One even tried to stop him, but being unable to bridge the language barrier, he couldn't defend his case, so the guards resigned themselves to accepting Link's help. Some doctors also tried to stop him to check him up for any injuries, but being equally unable to bridge the barrier, and seeing nothing wrong in his movement, they likewise returned to their duties.

After what seemed to be hours of nonstop searching, Link was finally stopped by more 5 decorated guards, the leader of whom spoke fluent Hylian.

"Sir Link?" He asked expressionlessly. He was clad in a grey and green runed metallic armor, the helmet of which covered all but his black lips.

"That would be me." Link replied without turning from his work.

"I am Lieutenant Nox, of the royal guard. I've been sent to find and escort you back to the palace." He stated in a highly disciplined manner. 'Much more impressive than Zelda's louts...' Link noted, "Can't do that, I need to stay here and help."

"Two of my men shall remain here to take your place, if you'll come with," he offered. Link didn't like it, but it was probably important if Midna went out of her way to send a part of her guard to find him.

"Alright, brief me on why she sent you guys to find me," Link caved.

"About 3 hours after you left the throne room, several positions had been assaulted by an unknown assailant. The Princess is trying to retrieve all remaining assets to assess the damage, and how to respond to this attack." The lieutenant explained.

"Well that seems impersonal..." Link mumbled to himself.

"It only seems that way sir, I'm not allowed to disclose any further information while we are in an insecure location." He answered.

"Damn you've got good hearing." Link concluded. "Alright, lead the way."

They then proceeded to climb through the rubble of the city. Although the marketplace was hit the worst, there was still a fair amount of destruction throughout the city. It was going to take a good deal of time to mend the damage, and Link didn't feel like going anywhere anytime soon.

Midna was waiting just inside the courtyard, talking with what seemed to be advisors, or perhaps councilors. Either way, they seemed to be important people.

She did catch him coming, escorted by his detail of her handpicked guards (looking a little worse for wear), and naturally gestured him over to her side. She was a little worried, although she'd never admit it. Link was tough, but how tough could any one person be?

They were all business when he went to her side. There wasn't time for anything else. "I trust the commander has filled you in on what's been happening." She started.

"For the most part, yes. The city has been laid under siege for half of the day now, by an unknown assailant, who apparently leads a group of moblins who haven't gone into hiding, and wields unimaginable magic power."

"Where did you find that information?" One of the important people asked, the eldest one if Link had to guess. "Our own network of scouts haven't been able to pin him down, he just simply... Appeared in the market place, with no trace of how he got in or out. We haven't even found any evidence of magic being used to get him in."

"I was there when he attacked." Link simply stated. "When I tried to draw my sword to attack the moblins, he immobilized me and picked me up into the air without even a glance. He also used me as a cannonball..." He stopped. 'Probably not a good idea to tell them that I ended up destroying a shop...'

"I see..." The older man said. "Then we have no idea as how to counter his offensive. We have no leads."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that councilor." The lieutenant spoke up, "We have captured some of the creatures during the attack, we may be able to get information from them. Assuming that they can speak of course."

"Oh they can talk alright, huh wolf-boy?" Midna elbowed Link playfully, which caused the councilors and the lieutenant to shuffle about uncomfortably.

"I don't like the sound of that..." Link groaned, knowing she was referring to the curse Zant placed on Link.

"You know we need some of your 'special talents' right now, might as well get too it." She pointed out "Lucky that you still have the Master Sword, otherwise you'd be stuck in wolf form for a while."

He just sighed in defeat, knowing that she was right. 'Well, I see some pain in my future...' The transformations were generally painful, mainly due to how quickly they happen. It wouldn't hurt nearly as much if the bones slowly molded into the newer forms, allowing the muscles time to shift into better positions, instead of snapping into place. At least, that's what Link hoped.

Midna gestured For Link to follow, and he complied reluctantly. He wasn't afraid, by any means, but it was a part of memory lane he would prefer to avoid. Unfortunately for him, he was going to have to bring out the beast within, and he knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

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**Sorry for taking so damned long, my frakin insomnia has been kicking my butt for the past week now. I'm not even sure what spurred on this problem this time around, and my meds aren't doing what they are supposed to. I don't need a dependency on Melatonin supplements, and would gladly avoid it if possible.**

**Don't fret though, I'll figure something out. Besides, the weekend is coming, and I know I sleep better on weekends. Or at least, the sleep is of better quality.**

**Well, tell me what you think guys! I'll be watching my reviews, and to my loyal subscribers: You are the best! I'll keep working my ass off to get you the next chapter asap, and it may just end up being a exclusive! (maybe... heheheh...)**


	10. The SIege's Aftermath

**And so begins the process of moving this story to be a Fanfiction net exclusive. Its a weird feeling, directly porting the story from my phone to here. Hope you enjoy the admittedly short chapter.**

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"Are you sure about this milady?" Nox asked nervously, leading a wolf on a chain. He was a bit shaken, watching Link turn into the sacred beast. It didn't help that he was now one of the few people who were privy to that information, because now he had to keep quiet about it.

"Lieutenant, just because he is in his wolf form doesn't mean he is any less aware of who he is, who we are, and what we are doing," Midna reassured him, "Worrying about it helps no one."

"My apologies milady, I didn't mean to sound like I doubted your judgement," he replied apologetically, "Its just that, I can't help but feel that the prisoner won't talk."

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll squeal like the fat pig he is." Midna said, knowing full well that the moblins could hear her.

Link just wagged his tail, unable to speak to anyone other than the moblin and Midna. For some strange reason, Midna was fully capable of understanding Link in his wolf form, ever since they met. Though knowing EXACTLY what he was saying might have changed after regaining her true form, Link still knew she would be able to understand what he was trying to tell her if he tried.

Even so, Link thought that this was simply ridiculous. What their plan boiled down to, was that Link was gonna go in, in his wolf form, and rough up some of the moblins for information. There wasn't any other options though, they needed leads, and the moblins were the only ones they had.

Lieutenant Nox then opened the cell door for Link. It wasn't like a Hyrulean cell,with metal bars. It was more of a stone box. Link walked in, and started growling at the chained moblin like a true wolf would the moment Nox closed the door again.

"Shit..." The moblin whimpered pitifully. "Now they are letting unchained dogs in... Can this get much worse?"

And as if it were rehearsed, Links stomach growled. That shook the moblin. It added a level of severity that was unintended, but nevertheless capitalized on. Link then took on the position that any hungry and pissed wild animal would take: the one that says "you or me pal, and you're not choosing"

"Alright alright! I'll tell you what you want, just get this mutt away from me!" It screamed. Within a moments notice, Link felt the small sting of the tranquilizer dart stabbing his hindquarters, and then blacked out.

"Sorry Link..." Midna whispered to herself. They had to make it seem like they were trying to kill the moblin, so tranquilizing Link was part of the process. It didn't make Midna feel any better though, especially seeings how it was her idea. Why she thought that up, she hadn't a clue, but it was gonna eat at her. _'At least he knew it was coming...'_ She reasoned, _'When he wakes up, I'll make it up to him.'_

The Moblin spilled everything, at least everything he knew. He told them of a cave system not far from the outskirts of Castle Town. That presented a problem, because there were virtually no ways in or out of the Shadow Realm. Link knew of one way, but he was knocked out right now. So they were going to need to wait.

"Lieutenant," Midna said plainly, trying to hide her guilt.

"Yes milady?"

"Take Link to the infirmary. I'll get some preparations made for the journey. Can you handle that?"

Nox then looked her in the eyes (which would've been a bold move for a lowly lieutenant). Had he not, he would have thought that she was insinuating that he had no ability, which would've been a mistake. But he could see that she genuinely wanted to know that Link was safe in his hands. Link was important to her, that much was obvious to begin with, but the depths of his meaning to her were unraveled a little to him.

"Of course milady" he replied simply, picking up the stunningly light wolf from the floor, and turning to the direction of the palace's infirmary. It was close to the center, so as to allow quick access to all wings and rooms of the palace within moments. It also made it the safest spot during sieges, but a poor place to hide in if the enemy ever breached the walls.

'Snap out of it lieutenant, you've got a job to do.' He scolded himself.

Midna walked over to her usual place, deep in thought of the days events. The past 2 days had so much happen, she was having trouble processing it: first, Link appeared out of nowhere, then she finds out that there is more than one link between her world and theirs. Then the city gets attacked the very next day. And then finally, to top it all off, there were her feelings for that wolf-boy that were threatening to drop her on her knees and turn her into a sobbing pile of mush. It was a lot to take in from only two days worth. 'It's almost as bad as when we got the fused shadows taken from us...' Midna thought sadly.

It was a very long night, filled with first times: the first time she nearly died; the first time a light dweller saved her (Link didn't count, he was the sacred beast); and last but certainly not least was that for the first time, she truly fell in love with someone. At first, she didn't know what it was that she felt for the strange beast. Was it admiration? Responsibility? What was this strange feeling? Why now, when she was near death? It took her a long time to figure it out, probably the rest of her journey... No, THEIR journey.

_'Why do I love him though?'_ She pondered. _'Do I really need an answer to that?'_

Her thought was interrupted by the sound of footprints, as a short, crippled man in a white labcoat walked towards her.

"Doctor Stein, do you have a status update on the... Patient's condition?" She asked, half scared of the answer.

He simply whistled in response, and Link came bounding down the hallway, still in his wolf form.

"I honestly believe you didn't use enough tranquilizer on this energetic creature. Thankfully, it's friendly and smart enough to recognize help when it comes." The doctor wheezed in response, adjusting the rather large screw in his head. As long as Midna could remember, the mad doctor always had that screw In his head. What it was for, no one but Stein knew, and he wasn't inclined to tell anyone.

Midna just laughed, knowing that Link probably ran around the infirmary frantically in his search for her. It was amazing how many dog-like traits he acquired in his wolf form, and it never failed to cheer her up.

"Alright Link, let's get you back to normal," she giggled as she lead him to her own room. They decided that they were going to leave Link's stuff in there, mainly because they had no better places to transform him back to his human form, and she honestly wanted to be alone with him.

Nox was down in the barracks, pondering on what he had just learned about his ruler and their newest visitor. Of course, he couldn't be certain without being a much higher rank than he was now, which would entitle him to some rather bold questions of his monarch. However, Nox was always a smart guy, especially so for his young age. But that intelligence always comes at a cost, and the price was paid in his social life. He had no friends to speak of, and he rarely spoke to anyone, including his own family, if it wasn't important. As such, he didn't really know how to interact with people, other than to get the job done, or if he needed something. One thing he did do often in his free time, was to watch people. He didn't stalk them, just observed random people at the market place, walking by and doing their day-to-day things. It didn't hurt that that was part of his job as well.

_'They must have had quite the adventures,'_ he thought, _'Otherwise, they'd probably hate each other. From what I can tell, Link is very different from the princess.'_

That much he was certain about. He didn't know the princess on a deeply personal level, but he was good at gauging people's personalities. It was very likely that, if they had first met at any time before or after the Zant incident, they probably would have hated each other and probably did hate each other initially, but he didn't have any examples to base that theory on, so anything was possible to him.

_'Alright, that's enough thinking about other people,'_ He stopped himself _'Time to get ready for the call. The princess will probably be needing me so as to keep as few people in the loop as possible.'_

Oh... what am I going to do now?" the moblin moaned, still chained to the wall of his cell. "Master will kill me when he finds out..."

He then shivered, thinking of all of his friends who were tortured to death by his master. Their offense were speaking of treacherous things, but his... he actually succeeded in his treason. No, this wasn't just a simple treason, it was complete and utter betrayal. The way the master killed traitors... he couldn't even bring himself to think about it, it was just so horrible. His last moments were not going to be very pleasant.

"No... I will not go out that way..." he resolved. "If I am going to die... it will be on MY terms..."

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**Sorry about the wait. I've been busy with school work and scholarships for college, and that tends to take time away from me. It doesn't hurt that since I have reunited Link and Midna, I've been having writer's block. I know a general endpoint, but the journey is the important part right now.**

**This chapter was pretty much meant to flesh out the new villain a bit, as well as the new supporting character. For those of you who caught the reference, good for you and please be quiet. I don't own _that_ series either, and I don't intend on making this a crossover. The character will have almost no shared history with the original, so assuming anything would be a waste of time. For those of you who didn't catch the reference... don't sweat it. It's not earth-shattering (hides ears from screaming fanboys/girls).**

**Lastly, I will probably be writing a very short crossover soon, so as to take a break from this ambitious little project of mine. What is this crossover you ask? Well, you may just want to PM me to find out. Nah, screw that, I'll tell you anyway: I've narrowed it down to being a LoZ crossover, but with which of these three titles is for you to find out: Soul Calibur, SAO (and/or ALfheim Online), or Legend of the Dragoon. Ambitious no? Guess that's just the kind of person I am. Stay awesome peeps! Leave a Review and tell me what you guys think, I could certainly use any critique.**

**P.S: I'll probably reupload this story sometime in the future, so as to make longer chapters when I can finally devote some REAL time into it. We aren't near the end, not by a long shot... But its a good start, and we are a decent distance from the start of the story right now.**


	11. Skirmish at the Lakeside

**Alright, so I recognize that the last chapter had some questionable content, which is not really the way I wanted to start off making the story a fanfiction net only story. But there is a method to my chaos, and like I said before this is a fairly dark and grim story in spite of the funny moments. It only gets worse from here, so if you feel like you can't handle the graphic evil I won't force you to read further. If it's any consolation though, there is going to be a happy ending. I also heard some concern about Midna's unnecessary cruelty towards Link in the last chapter. It wasn't ENTIRELY her idea, in fact Link suggested something similar. Probably should've included that, but now we are cleared up on that.**

**and so begins chapter 11, hopefully the air has been cleared on how this is going to go down.**

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Midna awoke the next morning, her head pounding from last night. She was just a little miserable, because you can't get very far on wine and champagne, even if it was the really good stuff.

"Shouldn't have uncorked that last bottle..." She moaned.

"I see you're awake." Whispered a certain someone, who wrapped his arms around her waist snugly.

"How are you still alive Link? You drank enough to knock out a Goron." She half asked, half whined. She wasn't used to having hangovers, even when she was trying to drink herself to sleep.

He just laughed and replied, "Guess you never had a drinking contest with one. C'mon, it's time to get up."

She blushed a deep rose red when he got up from under the sheets. She never noticed before, but he was a fairly muscular guy without his shirt on. She turned away to hide her now scarlet cheeks, and thankfully he didn't see her blush.

"Hey, why are you hiding your face?" He asked naively.

"N-no reason!" She replied hastily, trying to suppress her imminent nose-bleed by burying her head in her pillow.

She then heard Link whisper in her ear, "Your nose is bleeding. Just thought you should know."

Turning to him, she slugged him as hard as she could, getting an "oof!" Out of him. She then stormed off to her changing room, not once looking back at Link's chuckling form.

"Damn, you hit hard Midna..." He jokingly groaned, "The guards must be terrified when they are on escort duty..."

"Humph!" She pouted, irritated that Link had acted like he didn't know better.

When she came out, she found herself in Link's warm embrace, without warning. Stunned for a moment, she sputtered out a "H-hey Link, I wasn't actually-" but she was cut short by Link's warm lips pressed against her own. Their first ever kiss.

"This is why your still just a Lieutenant..." Nox scolded himself as he rushed to the princess's room. He was the personal detail today, and he was running late because he slept in a little. He usually was on time most days, so he was just being hard on himself.

He was in such a rush, that he forgot a golden rule about being a guard in the palace: NEVER open the doors to the princess's room unless ordered to. As a result, he walked in on something he shouldn't have seen: Link and Midna sharing their first kiss, instantly ruining the moment.

'I am so fired...' He thought morbidly, as they began to realize that they had an unwanted guest. 'Quick! Think of something!'

"Oh, um pardon me, didn't realize you were..." He stammered weakly.

"Have something to report lieutenant?" Link asked supportively. Nox thanked him inwardly for the save.

"Uh, y-yes! I came to report that everything has been packed, and we are ready to leave whenever you are! Also, I've been assigned as your personal escort by the captain." He stammered awkwardly.

"Thank you lieutenant, you may leave now" Midna answered with authority. It unnerved Nox for a moment, but he didn't show it. He merely bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

_'This is gonna be a long trip...'_ He sighed inwardly.

It was around the Twilight Realm's "high noon" when they finally did get moving, following the late moblin's instructions. The autopsy had found that the main cause of death was indeed the obvious: strangulation. They had to put aside that information now though, and indeed it wasn't very hard.

When they got to the stables, there were two strong looking black mares (at least, Link thought they were mares), saddled and packed up for a very long trip. Link guessed that the stable-hands weren't expecting Midna to come with, because many of those present did double takes to make sure that they weren't going crazy. Link tried to help Midna get onto her horse, but she surprised him by basically jumping into the saddle, startling the mare a little as well.

_'That's Midna for you.'_ he smiled, shaking his head in mock disapproval. He had a feeling that she would always be like that for the rest of their lives (wait, their lives?!).

She just stuck her tongue out at him, and said "Well? What are you waiting for? Get on!" To which he complied, taking the reigns and starting their newest adventure together.

When they finally got past the hill side, they followed the stream down to the lakeside. The beach was trashed with innumerable metallic objects, remnants of wars waged long ago, before even the Twili themselves. Occasionally, they would come across the skull of a VERY large bird that had strange horns on its head. Link could only hope that it wasn't a Stalfos, that thing would have been a bitch to fight out in the open like this. Thankfully, they never made that shudder when a Stalfos awakens.

However, some of the skulls had the same pattern of runes carved into them as his newest sword. That intrigued not just Link, but the trio as a whole.

But, their curiosity had to be put aside for the moment, because without warning an arrow whizzed past Link's face, barely missing it by mere inches. Glancing over that the arrow, he then determined where the archer had taken his sniper nest, following the shaft back to its origin. He instantly regretted not simply riding away.

In the tree, in almost insultingly plain sight, was what seemed to be some kind of mix between a mutant, red skulltula, a Bokoblin with fangs and horns... And a human being. It's eyes were pale yellow, the sclera (whites of the eye) being blackened a dark onix to contrast it. It's hair was snow white, covering the left side of its face and only parted by the horns that were the same shade of red as his face, which was contorted in a sickeningly permanent smile, showing its yellow, shark-like teeth. It had 3 pairs of arms, the forearms being covered in a prickly hair similar to the skulltulas, and it wore various furs of many different kinds to cover it's body, which must have served to keep it warm during the cold times of the year. It also wore what seemed to be bone segments on its legs, probably to protect them during close up fights. It's bow was a similar shade of yellow to his teeth, made of a material that seemed to coat it in layers, and in hind sight, the arrow had a similar structure and shade to the bow, an obvious connection. It wore a skull themed mask on the left side of its face, further covering it's left eye. It held its bow sideways, the signature of a practiced assassin.

Link watched in horror as it stuck 4 of its hands in its gaping mouth to pull out a yellow paste, and quickly formed the hardening resin into yet another arrow, and notch the arrow while it was still in his mouth, using the fangs to pull the strings back. He was terror struck by the sight of this demon, unable to move. Before he even realized what was happening, Nox suddenly jumped between Link and his would-be killer, taking the arrow in his shoulder. It hit him like a harpoon, and found that it practically was a harpoon, because the monster then began to pull on an unseen string, dragging Nox towards the now drooling creature.

Link then snapped out of it and pulled out his own bow, nocking and releasing a bomb arrow that quickly threw the beast out of its perch, landing face first into the ground with little more than a thump. Nox took this as an opportunity to remove the monstrous arrow, but found that it would not bend to his efforts. The resin that made the arrow must have been some kind of metal, because all he accomplished was wrecking his shoulder further. All he could do was watch Link and the beast engage each other in hand to hand combat.

The monster relied on the sharp claws on it's numerous hands, trying desperately to grab ahold of Link and make mince-meat of him. It had a deranged look in its eyes that screamed out for blood. Thankfully, Link was faster than it, and quickly dodged it each time it lunged. It was very determined though, and quickly chased Link to the water's edge, where he wouldn't be able to dodge so easily.

Link then made the blunder to actually try to block the animalistic being's assault. It quickly grabbed ahold of his shield and knocked the Twilit Blade out of his hands, forcing Link to the ground. It clawed at whatever it could reach behind the Hylian steel. Link closed his eyes, bracing himself for the gruesome end that was sure to come. And as quickly as it happened, it ended with a howl of pain from the fearsome creature, and then a splash as it hit the water.

Link opened his eyes to see Midna standing over him, panting from the intense surge of magic used to catapult the mutant into the water. Evidently, it couldn't swim, as it was struggling to remain above the water, howling in fear. Link then took out his bow and shot the creature in its right eye, saving it from suffering much more than necessary. After pulling that off, he passed out, exhausted from the fight for his life.

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**I'm back bitchez! And I plan on staying for a while, this story needs finishing. That grand finale is still a ways off, but we are well on our way.**

**Sorry for making my chapters so damn short, It's mainly written and published as I get around to it. My beta-testing was a good distraction for a while, but we all need to return to "reality" at some point.**

**This is Arbiter650, signing out for the day with Chapter 11. Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review!**


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